Laws and Loopholes
by Shiba Ayame
Summary: Maria Louise, being a princess, knows her laws, and quite a few loopholes to get around them. But when George hints at knowing a loophole she doesn't, she's very interested. G/ML, oneshot.


So I've never written a story for the Gundam universes, but I might as well. For those of you who subscribe to my fics, you should know that my ships are rather all over the spectrum of anime - shojo or shonen, yaoi or yuri or het. It was a matter of time before I wrote for this pairing.

So a warning: I don't know any French laws, so go with me here. (The only one I know is that there's no drinking age XD) And I do realize that I have a habit of storytelling through dialogue. It's a habit, I know.

Disclaimer: Much to my chagrin, I don't own Mobile Fighter G-Gundam.

Laws and Loopholes

Oneshot

* * *

For as long as she could remember, Maria Louise was deeply in love with a certain French gundam pilot. She'd had the crush of all crushes on him when she turned twelve, and a crush just doesn't last a whole two years - she had to be in love, she decided. But she knew they couldn't be together just yet. Not if the laws of Neo France had anything to say about it, anyway.

Being the Crown Princess, she knew her fair share of laws. Likewise, she knew which ones she could bend or find loopholes in. And the French law on statutory rape dictated that if someone over legal age asked for or gave sexual favors to a minor, they would be chucked into jail. So there goes her hopes of giving up her chastity to George DeSand any time soon.

But, she discovered, a girl can dream. They can't persecute you for thoughts if they stayed in your head. She was pretty blatant to the world that she was in love with her knight; but apparently his gorgeous red bangs had become a comprehension deflector, leaving him clueless to her intentions.

It was at some or another royal shindig thrown in her home at the French palace up on the colony that her usually pathetic luck with George had taken a turn for the better. Due to a lack of a drinking age in both parts of France, she was allowed to drink wine ("Always in moderation," she'd been warned by governess after governess) when she pleased. And it pleased her very much, for her favorite kinds of wine - strawberry and white zinfandel - were in abundance.

So without even really realizing the ballroom was starting to appear to be on a tilt, she swayed in her seat. Soon it just became too troublesome to sit upright, and her eyes had to fight to stay open. Eventually she just gave up, and let herself slump sideways in her chair, knowing full well that she'd end up hitting the floor, but her mind was too fuzzy to care.

"Princess?"

Ah, that voice. The voice of an angel, the angel she loved.

"Princess, are you awake?"

Her eyes slowly fluttered open, and Maria Louise smiled. Her brain was still a little blurry around the edges, but there George was, hovering above her.

"Hello," she whispered. If she was dreaming, she didn't want to wake up.

"Princess, I'm afraid you're inhebriated." Translation: She's drunk.

"I know, itsn't it great?" She giggled and hiccuped, which only made her giggle more. It took George all he could to keep the palm of his hand from colliding with his forehead. "Say, George, where are we?"

"The library, it was the closest place we could go without anyone bothering us. Don't sit up too fast, princess."

And to Maria Louise, seclusion plus George equaled make-out session, or at least it did in the movies. But she knew, no matter her blood alcohol level, that George was dense as lead, and he'd be rather shocked to be kissed without being briefed on their "situation".

"George," she started, "For you, I'm Maria Louise, not 'Princess'. And since I know you're too thickheaded to realize, I'm in love with you." She'd seen how his eyes had softened when she'd told him to use her name and not her title - or perhaps he'd had a few glasses of fine old wine himself? - and his lips formed a grim line when she'd shared her newsflash.

"Princess," George attempted to answer slowly, but the princess kept rambling on.

"I know about the statutory laws, trust me. And I know how unfair they can be. All I'm asking for is if you'll just wait a couple more years for me to be old enough and then"

"Princess," he tried again, a little more sternly this time, but her train of thought just wasn't stopping for him.

"-we can get married in a huge ceremony down on Earth, and invite everyone from the Shuffle Alliance and everyone who helped to fight after the tournament"

"Maria Louise," George finally said, resting a hand on her cheek. "You're rambling."

"I know."

"And you've got a little while to go yet..."

"I can wait."

This time, George didn't stop himself from slapping his forehead in frustration. "You're missing my point."

"And you're not saying it clear enough," she countered, pouting. Her hands rested on her hips, just above the tulle on her puffy, princess-style gown (ironically enough.

"I know you don't really love me yet," George said, ignoring her protest. "It takes a couple a little while for them to say 'I love you' to each other."

"You, my kind night, just did." Inwardly Maria Louise grinned at herself. Ah, the joys of being a smartass.

"Maria Louise, give me a second and shut up," he said, a frustrated smile on his face. "I know you've been crushing on me for three years now-" more ignored complaints, "and I've taken that opportunity to review the laws myself..."

This caught Marie Louise's attention. Even in her less-than-sober state, she knew he was insinuating that he knew something she didn't. "Go on," she urged him.

"You see," he said, a completely serious look adorning his face, "There was a decree about three or four hundred years ago by the king of France that the princesses of the nation would not adhere to typical marriage laws." His lips contorted into a smirk. "Princesses are accepted as 'legal age' to marry at sixteen."

Maria Louise's eyes lit up at his mention of marriage. Her white lace-gloved hands rose to her mouth, covering her 'O' of suprise and sheer glee. "So that means-"

"That means you don't have as long to wait as you think," He winked at her, embracing her pink-clad body as she lurched forward to hug him. "The law is a little ahead of itself, too..."

"Oh?" Her voice had just a hint of coy thrown in with her curiosity. Her arms were still around his neck, she realized as her awareness came back while the alcohol was slowly losing its edge.

"The oldest princess who has yet to be married off can be claimed when she turns fifteen, and allowed the year till her sixteenth to prepare for the marriage."

Ah, that's why they were celebrating. Her fifteenth birthday. Was that why nobody had stopped her from drinking so much?

George gave her a knowing smile. "I'm not nearly as thickheaded as you give me the credit for, princess."

"Maria Louise."

"Maria Louise," he corrected himself. "I've known since before the Gundam Fight. That's why I've been researching."

"So why would anyone stand by and follow some archaic law?" Sure, she was contradicting herself now, but hell, there was a law that stated boys were not allowed to wear their pants more than six inches below their waists, or that unmarried women weren't allowed to own a duck! "It's not like anyone remembers them anyway!"

"Ah, true," the knight leaned forward, resting his elbows on the chaise she was lounging on, "But a royal decree that hasn't been repealed must be followed. It may be archaic," he added, "but it's still the law of the land."

'He's talking like a real knight,' Maria Louise mused. 'Wait, he is a real knight. Duh.' "And must a princess marry a prince, or can she marry someone of lower stature?"

"Look at Cinderella," George offered; she was too young to catch on. "Cinderella wasn't royal, or even noble. She married Prince Charming and became a princess."

"So," Maria Louise sat up, patting the cushion beside her for George to take a seat. "If a princess married a knight, he would become a prince?" The Frenchman nodded. "And, since you took the time to research such a law, one would think that this knight has certain intentions..."

"And if I do?" Maria Louise knew that smirk, it was the one he gave when he was plotting something. She smiled right back. "So it seems the princess has caught her knight red-handed, and he eargerly-" he put extra force on the word 'eagerly', "-awaits his punishment."

Maria Louise gave him a smirk right back, righting herself to straddle his lap, no matter how daunting a task it was with her layers of poof. "The princess decrees that the knight be sentenced for life," she whispered in his ear, pressing a chaste kiss to George's lips. She came back up for air and gasped when she felt a band of cool metal through her lace gloves sliding onto a rather important finger.

"And now, my lady," George adressed her anew, "we must return to your party."

Maria Louise gave a pout. "Now why in the world would we want to do that?"

"Well, it's eight-thirty and the other members of the Shuffle Alliance are all here now. I'm sure you'd like to let all our friends know that you're engaged."

She cut him off with flinging her arms around his neck, pulling him into a hug that bordered on strangulation.

* * *

Ok, notes time! Joy of joys.

Ages - Ok, off the top of my head, I don't know George's age. I'm guessing he's in his early twenties. (According to Wikipedia he's 24, whereas Gundam Official says he's 20. I think I'll trust the official site.) Maria Louise, I know, was fourteen throughout the series, so that's why she turns fifteen in my fic.

Drinking age - In France, there is no drinking age. That's why Maria Louise was told to drink in moderation by her governesses.

Laws - Statutory rape, in the state of Pennsylvania (where I am, hah) constitutes someone over legal age performing sexual intercourse with a anyone under the age of sixteen. I have no grasp of French law, so let's go with that. The royal wedding age law George cites is a load of crap, it's convenient to my fic. The law about boys' waistlines is actually enforced in Danville, Pennsylvania (Source: the book Wierd Pennsylvania). The thing with ducks that Maria Louise mentions is also fake, borrowed from an archaic law mentioned in The Simpsons that I couldn't remember fully at the time, so I made it up.

Life sentence - This is actually from my father's personal experience. My parents first married in front of a judge, a few years later they stood up for another couple under the same judge. So the judge says to my father, "I don't forget a face, I know I've had you in front of my desk before. What did I give you?" My father, being the smartass he is, answers, "Life." I honestly still laugh when he tells that story. Aha, haha. It was too good not to use in a fic.

Cinderella - I'm guessing that Maria Louise didn't know the tale of Cinderella growing up, considering that FC is in the future and she's a princess anyway, her life is a fairy tale. George knows it because during his squire days, he was required to learn about fairy tales.

Gloves - It is seen as inappropriate for a girl Maria Louise's age and stature to be seen without gloves to cover her hands, or at least partial gauntlets. Her gloves are white lace because they better match her gown.

End my author's notes. Oh yay.

Eventually, I wanna cosplay either Rain or Maria Louise. They both have some of the cutest outfits.

Review? Review.


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